Something stinks in Birmingham. Local Momentum members are reporting that Birmingham Labour’s board has voted to bar any members who joined after July 2015 from voting in the selection of candidates to stand for Midland Metro Mayor next year and for council seats in the 2018 local elections.

In other words, any members who joined after Jeremy Corbyn’s candidacy for Labour leader was announced will have no say in who represents Labour in their area until the following council elections – which are not until 2022 – six years from now.

This means around two-thirds of members, overwhelmingly Corbyn supporters, will be disenfranchised, maximising the selection chances of right-wing candidates committed to undermining Labour’s return to its real roots.

The West Midlands are a hotbed – or, if you prefer, a cesspit – of odious, right-wing MPs, including of course Tom ‘Anaconda’ Watson. It appears that the blight is not…